Forgotten Things
by snail.whale42
Summary: Things are changing and the Volturi are inexplicably losing their hold on the vampire population causing worldwide havoc and strained vampire/ werewolf relations in Forks. Meanwhile, Seth acquires a scholarship to the University of Washington and ends up working in a small Seattle cafe where he meets someone who may have some answers. (Takes place four years after Breaking Dawn.)
1. Prologue

Prologue

The cold, oppressive darkness seemed to cling to every nook and cranny in the cottage. A small lamp lit the space around a little girl's bed as she huddled beneath the thick quilts, away from winter's chill. The howling wind and scratch of snow on the eaves and windows caused her to jump occasionally as she huddled over a large book of fairy tales that was spread on the mattress in front of her and her blue eyes traced the area of the pages not obscured by her long brown hair.

A loud bump sounded from the room down the hall and the child slid off of her bed and walked toward the door, but before she could reach it, the door opened and a woman stepped into the tiny room.

"Who are you?" The girl looked curiously at the visitor. The woman was very beautiful with pale skin and long dark hair; however, there was hardness to her as if she were made of marble. The woman smiled down at the child.

Bending, she picked up the child. The little girl shivered at the touch of the visitor's skin, but did not fight. Turning and walking back down the hall, the woman entered the little girl's parents' room. Blood covered both the parents and the faces of two people on either side of the bed. The child in the woman's arms gave a whimper seeing her parents deathly white forms. Softly the cold woman stroked the child's pale brown hair. "I am truly sorry for the mess, darling. My friends are messy drinkers."


	2. The Beginning

**So this is my first fan fiction. Sorry if it's bad... : )**

**...**

Chapter 1

A cold driving rain had blown in overnight rendering La Push abnormally dreary and heralding the end of summer. Jacob, stepping beneath the shelter of the trees, gave his thick coat a violent shake spraying water droplets everywhere.

'Hey! Just because you're wet doesn't mean I have to be!' Leah rolled to her feet off of a soft pile of moss sending a mutinous glare in Jacob's direction. He couldn't suppress a small chuckle. Leah hated rainy days like no other and the clammy feeling of her coat clinging to her flanks had put her in a worse mood than Paul today.

They set off towards the beach together as the oppressively damp air found its way through their thick fur and chilled their skin. Less than a minute later they were joined by Sam and his pack who, like them, had just finished their patrol of the woods. They loped along in silence for awhile until they reached the break in the trees there they stopped, except for Leah who continued on until she was out of sight behind a huge pine about twenty yards away.

Minutes later, the two packs emerged onto the pebbles of the beach in their normal forms. A lone figure sat silhouetted against the dreary horizon, his clothes and hair plastered to his body by the steady fall of the rain. The waves brushed his toes as his lanky legs dangled from his perch on an enormous washed up tree. He glanced up at their approach, but almost immediately went back to fiddling with a small shell he had picked up, repeatedly turning it between his fingers.

"Seth." Jacob hopped lightly onto the log beside his friend.

Seth didn't look up. "I can't go." He suddenly hurled the small shell into the crashing waves where it made a small splash and was gone. "I can't. Ok? I don't want to just leave you guys to defend the tribe. I can phase, so it's my job too." Leah wrapped her arms around Seth from behind.

"You have a good scholarship and we can spare you. You should go. We can take care of the defending ourselves," Leah said quietly adding affectionately a moment later, "little runt."

"So you guys don't need me?" There was a spike of hurt in his voice.

"Seth, it's not like that." Leah's voice was no longer gentle, but annoyed. "It's true you're the least experienced and can get in the way..."

"Think about it." Jacob cut Leah off quickly, giving her a warning look. "You aren't tied here by anything, you haven't imprinted yet. Sam's got Emily and I've got Nessie, so we have to be here, but you're free."

Seth considered for a moment. "Leah hasn't imprinted on anyone." Leah removed her arms from around her younger brother looking mildly angry.

"Yeah, I haven't. But I'm better at fighting than you are and I've got way more experience." Seth looked apologetic. He had forgotten that imprinting was still a touchy topic for Leah. It had been four years, yet Leah was still getting over Sam. Maybe it was the fact that she was a werewolf and expectation that she would eventually imprint that was keeping her from letting go, but in any case, she hadn't imprinted and it didn't sit well with her.

The rain became a light drizzle as the group sat in silence for a while. "Seth, you have the scholarship, you have a job near campus, and you've already moved your things into your dorm. After next year, you're moving back to Forks anyway to finish the last two years of your degree." Sam's statement seemed to calm Seth for the moment.

Although Seth wasn't happy to admit it, Sam did have a point. La Push would be safe enough from vampires even with the increasingly frequent incursions that had taken place over the past year. The Cullens seemed equally concerned as the newcomers neither respected the treaty, nor hunted only animals.

Charlie Swan had been getting an abnormal amount of flack as a result, even though there was nothing he could do about the two disappearances that had occurred six months before. At that point the Cullens had felt it was necessary to fill him in on what had been going on. Most disturbingly perhaps, Carlisle had noticed a decline in the power that the Volturi held over their kind. To say the least, it was a mess, but La Push was still one of the safest places on the Olympic Peninsula. The tribe would survive.

"Yeah, I guess I won't be gone that long, and I can still call you guys and come home on holidays." Seth forced a small smile.

Embry slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit! Hey! We were going to have a bonfire here tonight to give you and the other kids who are leaving a proper sending off. Make sure you show up."

The rain had let up finally and the weather held for the rest of the afternoon. The sky remained gray until sunset when the clouds turned to soft pink and then black as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.


	3. The Buddy System

**So my creativity hasn't died yet.**

**...**

**C**hapter 2

The cool evening was warmed by the blazing heat of the fire and Seth sat on the cool pebbles and sand next to Leah, enjoying being left alone for awhile. A few of the Quileute kids passed around a bag of marshmallows while others poured cocoa into Styrofoam cups. The bubbling chatter was the only sound besides the waves on the beach that broke the perfect silence of the night. The peace was nice, but at the same time, the looming darkness of the woods that he knew so well set a shard of foreboding in his chest.

Leah was lying down, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, but there was an unmistakable tenseness to her form. Her eyes were closed and the sea breeze ruffled her hair slightly. Seth leaned down to look at her watch. The small black numbers flashed 12:00. He stretched and got up. Leah's eyes opened. "Where are you going?" Seth glanced around at the couples huddled beside the fire.

"I'm heading back. I have to leave at 5:00 tomorrow." He turned, walked into the trees, and heard Leah scramble after him.

"Woah. Wait up! You know what Sam and Jacob decided and it applies to us too even if we are Werewolves." She caught up to him quickly. "Buddy system. Remember?" She paused to look around. "It is really dark." Leah's voice rang from next to Seth. "So what if a vampire just randomly appeared out of nowhere and attacked us?" Seth grinned although the question set him on edge.

He stumbled a bit over a tree root. "I guess we'd phase and kill it?" Leah snorted.

"What if it was a really, really, big vampire the size of a house?" Seth couldn't help but laugh.

"You're tired aren't you?" He could barely make out his older sister's cheeky grin in the inky blackness of the woods. As the nights got later, Leah thought up stranger things. It had been driving Jacob crazy for the past few weeks when coupled with the fear of ambush when they were out late. She never kept her thoughts to herself, but Seth was used to it and had the patience to cope. The lights of their house came into view through the trees and Leah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sleep!" Seth laughed again as Leah half ran through the door to the bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. Seth picked up his and reached for the tooth paste still in her hand. She held it out of reach. "C'mon runt, you're on your own tomorrow. You gotta be able to fend for yourself."

Seth smiled. "Somehow I don't think that fending for myself usually involves wrestling insane sisters for toothpaste." The toothpaste landed in his outstretched palm and he squeezed a bit onto his brush. Leah said something else that he couldn't make out through her mouthful of toothpaste froth. For a few minutes, the only sound was the scrubbing of bristles.

Leah rinsed off her toothbrush and returned it to the hook on the mirror and Seth followed suit. "So when did I become 'runt'? You used to call me 'little squirt'." Leah rubbed her eyes and appeared to be thinking.

"Runt is more fun to say, so now you're a runt. Besides, you can't deny the truth of the word. I mean, maybe I'm a bit smaller, but that doesn't count since I'm a girl." Seth frowned at her. She smiled in return and gave him a squeeze before pulling back with a look of mock surprise. "Damn, when did I get so freaking sentimental?"

As she turned to leave for her room, Seth thought he saw a tear in her eye. He smiled. Leah acted tough, but on the inside she was really a softy. Seth wondered if it was her stubborn nature and unwillingness to show sadness that made her so sarcastic and even bellicose at times. He shut off the light and felt his way down the dark hallway to his room where, undressing quickly, he pulled the blankets over his head and fell asleep.


	4. The First Day

**OK. So I know the first two chapters weren't great, but I'm working on it. I may edit them at some point and re-upload so I'll add a message at the top of the newest chapter if I do. Oh, and I don't own Twilight. Please review ****.**

Chapter 3

The pleasant morning air seemed out of place on a day like this. Perfectly warm and sunny. It did not seem like a day before the semester would begin, nor did it seem like the day to open late and train new employees.

Staring out the front window, Marit wondered vaguely if the rain would come back. The sunlight streaming through the plate glass window at the front of the café was reflecting in an obnoxiously cheerful way off of the freshly cleaned chairs and tables as Marit dragged a damp cloth across the counter of the coffee bar. Rattling and a few muffled curses echoed through the dining area as Tim hit a crock of cooking utensils with his elbow. She looked up again as the bell over the door clinked softly as Joann and Casey walked in, late as usual. Orientation day, from what she had heard, never started well and never ended well either; so far it had been true to its reputation for Tim.

Joann seemed mystified by the emptiness of the café that morning as Marit watched her walk in between tables sliding her fingers over the backs of chairs. Turning in a circle, she gave Marit a small wave before shouting, "IT IS _SO QUIET _IN HERE!"

Another crash issued from the kitchen and this time, Tim's voice was not muffled."Shut the hell up, Jo! I was enjoying the place without your loud mouth around here!" His head appeared from the kitchen door and glanced around expectantly. "Is Emma or Donovan here yet?"

Casey began brewing pots of coffee, whistling. "Nope. Our kitchen and dining room managers are no-shows." She flicked a switch on the machine and the rich smell of coffee slowly began to fill the little restaurant. "So, Tim, are you going to be happy to have some new recruits to help you out back there?"

Tim didn't respond, but Marit could hear him humming. It was a good not sign. "So what are we doing as far as orientation? Are we just training the new employees?" Joann nodded and leaned her strong, stocky frame against the counter.

"Orientation, my dear Marit, is possibly the most interesting day of the year and the most interesting thing you can do besides pretending to be a hobo in the wonderfully obscure little alley where the dumpsters are located." Marit raised a blond eyebrow and Joann put up her hands slightly. "Hear me out, and yes, I, Joann Kim, have pretended to be a hobo before, but only at Emma's suggestion. Orientation day is the day when you get to pass on all of your knowledge of waitressing to the next generation and that includes adding their names to our records sheets."

Feeling distinctly unsettled, Marit turned toward the sink to rearrange the tea boxes on the shelf above her head. "The what?" If Joann was amused by it, it had to be bad.

"Record sheets." Joann repeated nonchalantly. "Remember that bulletin board back in the kitchen? That big green sheet of paper with all of the wait staff's names on it records the amount of times you get asked out by customers during working hours, have nervous breakdowns, or get a really long coffee order, and then the person with the most gets the record!" She examined Marit's face. "Are you breaking out in a rash?" Marit's face heated even more. Joann laughed. "Hey, don't worry. You won't be the only one with stuff recorded. Christina Shelly, who worked here last year, was trying to get her degree in Biophysics and before exam week, she got so stressed that she passed out three times and Casey once had a breakdown because she thought her goldfish was dying." Marit's cheeks remained pink and Joann frowned slightly. " Gosh, you're so shy. Get over it."

Marit's head turned to the door as it opened and admitted Emma, who was accompanied by her shock of newly dyed green hair. Emma vanished into the office and a few minutes later, Donovan rushed through the door and then into the kitchen. He and Tim began discussing the day's plan almost immediately and weren't seen for the next fifteen minutes. By then, the new employees had showed up and were fidgeting awkwardly, shifting as they waited. One dark haired boy was staring at Marit.

Casey nudged Marit as she made her way to the kitchen. "Why's that kid staring at you weird?" Marit shrugged and stared back for a moment. The boy dropped his gaze, blushing. Marit frowned slightly. She turned around and began to refill a few salt shakers to complete her morning tasks. When she turned her head, he was staring again.

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Standing in the café, Seth felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The girl behind the counter was stunning. The only beauty that he remembered that was greater than hers was Rosalie's and even then Rosalie would have been on shaky ground. Faintly, he realized his world had just turned upside-down and that he had imprinted.

Her hair was a light blond, tied tight in a thick braid that fell to the middle of her back, and her skin was a soft peach color that was so pale that it looked almost white. At first glance he had thought that she was a vampire, but then, looking closer, Seth noticed that her skin didn't sparkle in the sun, nor were her eyes red or gold. Instead, they were an intense blue color.

Seth hoped she wouldn't notice him staring. All the other boys had at least one eye on her although most tried to be subtle about it. Another waitress, this one with dark, chocolate colored skin, nudged her and then inclined her head towards him. The girl focused on Seth for a moment staring back with equal intensity. Seth felt his face heat up and dropped his gaze.

Trying to find something else to focus on, if only for a moment, he scanned the wall of plaques labeled "Employee of the Month". He smiled slightly, distracted for a moment; Rachel's name was there. He wondered if the girl's name was up on the wall too and then silently cursed himself. So much for a distraction.

To his silent relief, the door to the office swung open and a woman with fluorescent green hair walked out. Seth immediately recognized her as the woman who had interviewed him a few months before. "Alright everyone, you already know whether you have a dining-room or kitchen job, so kitchen people are with me, and dining-room people are with Joann."

A stocky, strong-looking Asian girl waved brightly at the assembled group. Seth was semi-glad to be with her instead of the green-haired woman. As the kitchen personnel vanished through the swinging door to the kitchen, Joann looked them all over in a calculating sort of way. "Well, you're all better that the crap they gave me last year. Hi there. As you know, my name is Joann, I'm a junior at the college...studying liberal arts stuff, crew team...yada yada, let's get to work."

Joann quickly explained what to do, how and when to clean tables, appropriate work clothes, and how to brew tea and use the coffee maker. "So. Let's go around and you three can tell me what year you're in, your name, what shift you're working, and what you're studying. You there!" She waved a finger at the red haired boy beside Seth. "Go first."

The boy sighed looking annoyed. "I'm Ethan Cramer, I'll be a sophomore, I'm on the afternoon shift, and I'm studying Astrophysics and Advanced Calculus." Joann raised her eyebrows and motioned to the girl next to Ethan.

She began softly, looking at the floor. "Hi, I'm Meghan Cruz, I'll be a freshman, I'm on the afternoon shift too, and I'm studying Chemistry and Education." Seth forced himself to relax as his turn arrived. His face was still warm and he could see the blonde girl, still there.

Seth took a steadying breath and smiled.' _I get along with everyone, right?'_ he thought. "I'm Seth Clearwater, I'll be a freshman, I'm on the morning shift, and I'm studying Biology and Ecology." He kept glancing self-consciously at the girl behind the counter, gauging her reaction. She remained impassive.

Joann poked her fellow employee. "Go."

"Hello. I'm Marit, I'll be a freshman, I'm on the morning shift, and I'm also studying Biology and Ecology." Her soft pink lips curved into a faint smile. Seth felt a flutter of happiness and smiled more brightly than before.

The rest of the morning passed to fast for Seth. When it was time to leave for the day, He tried to catch Marit on the way out the door, but she was already gone.

**Please Review. And I will try not to make a mary sue character. Tell me if I do.**


	5. Uncommon Scents

**YAY! CHAPTER 5! I don't own Twilight. Reviews and suggestions are welcome.**

Chapter 4

The room Seth walked into the next day was enormous. The seats had been arranged to resemble a sort of amphitheatre with the ceiling at least two stories above the floor. Most of the seats were still open, but a fair amount of students were already present. His eyes scanned the crowd for someone he knew. He found her easily.

Marit was sitting alone on the edge of a row, clearly having nothing to do with the noisy assembly around her. Her pen was moving as she drew on the notepad in front of her. Seth made his way to the seat beside her. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

For a moment she didn't respond, but then her eyes flicked up. "I don't see what's stopping you." As if seeing the rest of the students for the first time, Marit wrinkled her nose. "You're probably better company than most other people around here anyway." Seth put his backpack on the floor and sat down. Marit was doodling again; her pen formed a small picture of a person with a tail. As she had been at the café, she was completely impassive.

Taking a breath, Seth decided to at least try to start a conversation, but then paused. As he inhaled, he noticed that her scent, although subtle, was very distinctly inhuman. It was earthy, like the soft loam of the forest floor, combined with pine and a faintly sweet floral scent. He frowned. Weird. "So, are you from Washington?"

This time, she didn't bother to look at him. "Not originally. My family moved here ten years ago from Norway."

"Wow. That's a pretty long way away." Her blue eyes stared at him now, analyzing.

"Are you from Washington?"

"Yeah. I'm from La Push. It's near Forks, but you probably don't know where that is. It's about four hours away from here."

Marit turned her attention back to her notepad, now drawing trees around the person she had drawn earlier. "Actually, I do know where Forks is. The ONRC is really close. From what I hear, we'll be doing some field research there later in the year."

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that." The surrounding noise of the classroom died down as the professor stepped onto the platform in front of the room. All attention was turned to the man standing at there.

"Hello class. I am your professor. My name is David Grey, but you all will refer to me as Professor Grey. This manner of address may make it appear that I view you all as irresponsible High School students. To be clear, until you demonstrate your academic abilities, I do view you all as no more than irresponsible High School Students. This will not be an easy class for anyone," Seth thought he heard a small snort from beside him, "and I expect you all to take careful notes and not sleep in class or carry on like hooligans. I will begin class today with a lecture on the importance of ecology. Please take notes." There was a scuffle as the class dug notebooks from their bags.

As Professor Grey began his droning lecture, Seth's pen flew over his notebook. The sound of a scratching pen beside him confirmed that Marit was doing the same. "As the human race is the only sentient race on the earth," Seth glanced at Marit. She was making a few slashing marks under what she had just wrote and in the margin of her paper scribbled the word "WRONG" in big letters. "We are the protectors of the environment. It is our job to manage the resources around us."

The Professor's lecture dragged on for the next hour with criticisms of industrialization, the national park service, the government, and any controversial political issue, whether or not it had anything to do with the class. Seth ended up slumped in his seat deciding whether or not to laugh and Marit, still taking notes, had her head pressed into her palm with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose to ward off a headache. The look on her face was incredulous. Every so often, her pen slashed through a few lines that she found especially offensive. At last, Professor Grey concluded his lecture and gathered his notes.

"We have a quiz next class, please prepare accordingly." He marched in a somewhat pompous manner out of the room.

Seth stood up and stretched. "So what do you think?" Marit was packing her bag, meticulously organizing her papers into folders, still looking annoyed.

"Well if anything he's opinionated." Seth snorted and a small smile ghosted over Marit's lips. "Where are you headed to next?"

As Marit followed Seth out of the lecture hall and outside, she seemed thoughtful. "He smells weird. There's something off about him."

Seth frowned. "I didn't really notice the smell. He smelled like a lot of soap."

"Well he's doing something to keep it inconspicuous. He probably smelled you though." She kicked a pinecone off of the sidewalk.

"You can smell me?" Marit lifted her shoulders slightly and let them drop. Seth took it as a yes. "Then that means you know I'm a werewolf."

"Shape shifter, actually." She corrected him mildly. "And yes. I do. Took me a while to place it though. I haven't smelled a shape shifter in thirteen years."

"But normal humans can't smell us, so what does that make you?" Seth felt a bit confused. She definitely wasn't a vampire, but what else was there?

"I guess that would make me abnormal. Where are we going by the way?" Her question caught Seth slightly off guard.

"I was following you." He stopped walking and Marit followed suit.

"Oh. I was following you." She glanced at the watch on her wrist. "It's about time I got home. Auntie will start worrying if I'm not back by five." She looked at him apologetically.

"Well I can walk you home." Seth wanted to keep talking, knowing that walking away from Marit would be painful.

"I'd like that, Seth Clearwater." She smiled up at him. "It's this way."

When they reached the gate in front of the house, Seth steeled himself for the discomfort that he knew would be coming, but as Marit walked through the front door and disappeared, there was none. He missed her already, but it was bearable. Nothing like what Sam or Jacob had described. He frowned as he walked back toward the campus. "There is something seriously weird about her." He muttered. When he reached his dorm, he pulled his phone out of his bag, quickly dialing Leah's number. She picked up after the second ring.

"Hey, Runt. Long time no talk. How goes college life? Imprinted yet?" Her laugh sounded tinny on the speaker.

"Um, actually, Leah, that's what I'm calling about..."


	6. Chapter 5 for lack of a better title

**Hello! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm really busy, so I may not be updating regularly over the holidays, but I'll do my best. I don't own Twilight, and reviews are welcome.**

"So you're entirely positive that she isn't human?" Leah sounded skeptical.

"Definitely. She doesn't smell human or really actually look strictly human either." Seth was sitting in the hard wooden desk chair in his room. His desk's light was on illuminating his books and laptop.

"Meaning what exactly?" Leah's skepticism was becoming annoying. Seth had called her for some sort of advice. He didn't want, but had expected, a disbelieving sister who wasn't entirely sure if he was telling the truth.

Seth sighed, rubbing his temple with the heel of his hand. "Well, she's really pretty." He heard Leah snort on the other end of the line.

"Are you sure that isn't just a side effect of the fact that you imprinted on her? Cuz everyone in the packs who has imprinted thinks that whoever they imprinted on is really pretty."

"No. I don't think that that's it. She's Rosalie sort of pretty. When we were getting our job training I wasn't the only one staring at her. Every other guy in the room was too. Customers are like that as well." Leah made a small noise of acceptance as if he had finally made a fair point.

"So aside from being pretty and smelling weird what else is there? I still think you just have a stuffy nose."

"Well, when I told her I was a werewolf she didn't freak out and..."Leah made a sort of choking noise.

"You told her you're a werewolf?" Seth held the phone away from his ear, wincing. "What is wrong with you? You just met her two days ago!"

Seth felt his cheeks heat up. "Well she already knew." He said defensively. "There was no point in hiding it. She could smell that I was." This silenced his sister for a while. "Leah?"

"Yeah. I'm still here. You didn't mention the fact that she can smell us." Seth rubbed his temple again.

"I was getting there, but you cut me off."

"Sure. Right." Leah was silent for another while. "So to list off the stuff that's weird, she's pretty, she smells weird, she has an abnormally good sense of smell. Is that it?"

"Well, when I imprint on someone, doesn't that mean that I'm supposed to have some sort of unbearable urge to be around her every second of my life? Cuz I miss her, but it isn't actually so bad. It's completely bearable and I'm able to not notice it if I'm not thinking about it."

"Okay. That's another thing then. Cuz Jacob and Sam were never like that, but that might just you being weird instead of her." Seth heard a door closing on the other end of the line. "Hey. Jacob just showed up. How about I fill him in and you get to studying?" Seth sighed unhappily.

"Okay. If anything else happens I'll tell you. Call me later and tell me what's going on in La Push. What's Jake doing over there anyway?"

"Mom invited him for dinner. I think she misses having you around and is using Jacob as a substitute."

"Oh. Talk to you later then. Bye." As he turned off his phone and reached for his notebook, he wondered if there had been any developments on the vampire issue. Leah hadn't sounded concerned about anything, so he assumed that the vampires weren't particularly troublesome at the moment.

Reading over the notes he had taken during class, he was reminded of the way Marit had scribbled out the line about humans being the only sentient beings on the planet. She knew about shapeshifters and werewolves, but did she know about vampires? He frowned. She probably did. But then what was she? She could have been a vampire human hybrid like Renesmee, but she was nothing like Renesmee.

Her skin didn't have the half sparkly quality and she didn't smell like Renesmee either, not that that was really anything to go off of since he hadn't met many half vampires. He frowned, trying to concentrate on the notebook, but gave up, switching the notebook for his biology textbook.

The door banged open behind him and then slammed loudly as his roommate, Brady, walked in and slumped into the other desk chair, pulling a stack of papers out of his shoulder bag. "Homework on the first day! Woohoo!" Brady waved the stack in the air before losing hold of it and sending paper flying everywhere. Seth ducked, laughing. When the mess settled, Brady's side of the room looked no different than before. He stared blankly at it for a moment before turning to Seth. "Wanna go eat?" Seth nodded enthusiastically.

"Please. I'm starving." Turning off the lights, they proceeded to the cafeteria.

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"Marit! Come downstairs for dinner!" Marit glanced at the blue numerals on the digital clock that was perched precariously on a stack of her books. The tiny glowing numbers read '7:00'. She rose, stacking the notes she had been reading, and hurried downstairs.

The smell of potatoes and stew filled the kitchen as Marit walked in. Agathe Olsen stood over the stove, her stout frame bent over a kettle of boiling water. The kitchen was brightly lit with a table in the corner, rag rugs on the floor, and a row of decorative plates above the cabinets. The scene was cozy and peaceful, disrupted only by the loud music blaring from the house next door. Agathe's face was red from steam as she turned and placed a crock of cutlery in Marit's hands.

"Set the table, girl." She turned back to the kettle of potatoes. "Helvete! Do those kids ever shut up? They will come to nothing good, you mark my words. It is always so loud around here." Marit laughed.

"We do live in the middle of a group of fraternity houses." Agathe just shook her head and began scooping potatoes into a bowl.

"Just sit down." Agathe joined Marit at the table a few minutes after, scooping stew and potatoes onto both plates. The meal passed in silence aside from a few remarks by Agathe and answers by Marit. "A shapeshifter walked you home today." This only elicited a small nod from the blonde girl sitting across from her. "Do you like him?" As was her way, Marits eyes flicked up to look at Agathe as if subtly surprised.

"He's alright. I don't know him quite well enough to tell at this point." Her voice was soft, barely piercing the heavy silence of the kitchen. A look as if of shame crossed her face. Agathe regarded her with old eyes that were pale, sad, and seemed to understand something that Marit would not disclose at that moment. "Agathe, where is Hans?" Agathe turned her face away.

"Your uncle is working." Marit's eyes hardened, but she didn't speak. A light bulb in the lamp above the table blinked on and off, crackling slightly. Agathe looked up at it and sighed before mirroring her niece and setting her fork on her empty plate. "Listen, I'm sure he will come home soon." Marit nodded mutely. "If you are so worried, call your brothers. They are with him."

Standing up, Marit took the empty dishes to the sink and packed the leftover food into containers that she set in the refrigerator. Agathe dried the plates that marit washed and placed them back into the cabinet. Marit walked to the door and opened it.

"Where are you going?" Agathe called after her.

"Outside." She didn't go far. A huge oak spread its branches across most of the front yard and she began to climb. Finding a sort of seat made by the branches, she leaned back against the trunk, the shadows of the branches rendering the space very dark except for a few beams of moonlight that found their way through the tangle. Across the street, rap music pounded from a boom box in a window.


	7. Rainstorms and Phasing

**I have nothing to say this time! *O* wut?!)**

Fall rains returned to the city with a vengeance, pouring rain over the skyline and soaking the ground as low, dark clouds shrouded the entire city in gloom. The sun hadn't come out from under the thick blue-gray blanket for over two weeks. The sound of water dripping down gutters and street drains had become monotonous background noise that nobody noticed any longer.

It was late November and the temperatures were dipping precipitously into the mid thirties. Tensions ran high across campus as exams approached and cabin fever set in.

The yellow light from inside the café seemed out of place against the cold gray backdrop of the city as Seth made his way through the groups of students clustered on the sidewalks. The ring of the bell above the door sounded strangely hollow today as he walked in. The place seemed abnormally full that day, with the buzz of chatter from students who had already arrived for breakfast or study group meetings.

The smell of eggs, cinnamon, and coffee filled the dining room. Behind the counter, Casey was taking orders and handing cups to Marit at record speed as the line got larger. Seth tied his apron and began helping Marit fill orders. Tim would occasionally call out that a food order was ready and Marit would hand the package to the customer. An hour later, the crowd had thinned out to only one or two patrons sipping coffee and pouring over their books and laptops.

Seth finished wiping down the empty tables before returning behind the counter where Casey was complaining about the weather.

"This humidity is insane. I mean, look at this." She held up a section of her hair that had begun to get frizzy. "I must have used a whole bottle of anti-frizz stuff this morning and it still isn't working." A loud gust of wind howled past outside, driving more raindrops against the front windows. "And it's really cold too. At this rate the whole city'll be covered in ice by January." She glanced at Seth. "How on earth are you able to wear a t-shirt? You don't even wear a jacket outside."

Seth shrugged. "The cold doesn't really bother me." Casey just rolled her eyes as if to say 'sure it doesn't.' "Hey, I was going to ask. Why are you working the morning shift today? I thought Joann was assigned mornings."

"Oh. Joann's sick. I think she has a nasty cold. She looked pretty bad this morning, so I left her some ibuprofen and suphedrine before I left."

"Do you think she's okay?" Marit sounded concerned. "She never gets sick."

Casey leaned back against the counter. "She'll be fine. Joann is one of those people who only gets sick once or twice a year, but when she does get sick, it's not good. Anyway, I'm kind of enjoying her like this. She isn't half as much of an obnoxious roommate when she has this little energy." Casey considered for a moment. "Although the sneezing can get annoying too."

Seth tried to imagine Joann stuck in bed and sick. It was nearly impossible.

Casey left early to go to class leaving Seth and Marit to watch the dining room, which was now empty. Tim and Emma were in the office, probably chatting. The door was closed. "Do you want to meet up later tonight? Study for exams?" Marit nodded and smiled.

"Sure. Where do you want to meet? Is the library good?"

"Yeah. That's fine. Does seven work?" Marit nodded.

At that moment, the sound of the bell on the door heralded the arrival of a customer. When Seth saw who it was he frowned. He recognized the guy, a kid who had gotten accepted on an athletics scholarship. Brady hated him and it didn't help that his dorm room was on the same floor. As if sensing his unease, Marit nudged his shoulder. "I'll take this one."

"Hey." The guy was at the register. "Do you always wear a dress?"

"What are you ordering today, sir?" Marit didn't answer his question.

"Don't be offended. I'm just wondering. I like girls who wear dresses. They're feminine."

"What are you ordering, sir?" She repeated the question a bit more forcefully this time. The guy at the counter considered for a moment and then appeared to decide that trying to start a conversation was pointless.

"I'd just like a small coffee. Two sugars. And maybe dinner tonight?" He flashed his teeth in a smile.

Marit stared at him. "We're open till eight tonight, but the kitchen closes at seven. That'll be one dollar." Placing the money in the register, she turned and pulled a cup from the dispenser and began pouring coffee.

"Hey. You know that isn't what I meant." Seth tried to hide a grin.

"Well then I apologize for misunderstanding your question, sir. One small coffee, two sugars." She handed it over the counter.

Seth stiffened. Instead of taking the cup, the guy's hand closed around Marit's wrist. "I'm going to make my question clearer. Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?" He was smiling again.

Marit let out a breath, blinking slowly. "I'm going to make my answer clearer. No. Now please let go of my wrist." The hand didn't move.

"Are you sure? Because there's this really nice sandwich place downtown. If you tell me where to pick you up I can give you a ride." He was still smiling. Seth felt fury welling up and tried to push it down. Marit could handle this, and he really didn't need to lose it. Not here.

"I'm not sure what gives you the idea that I want to go anywhere with you or get in your car, but I don't."

"You know what I think?" As the customer began talking again, Seth closed his eyes and willed himself not to explode. "I think you actually do want to go to dinner with me."

"And what gives you that idea?" Marit muttered.

"See, you haven't tried to pull your wrist away!" Seth was all too aware that his breathing was getting heavier. Marit glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Seth knew from watching Paul that at this point it was only a matter of time until he phased, and he knew from the look that she had just given him that she was fully aware of the danger.

"Actually, if you didn't notice, you're grabbing the wrist of a hand that is holding a cup of boiling hot liquid. I'm trying not to dump it down the front of your shirt, but trust me, it's tempting." Her voice was no longer the even tone that she had been trying to keep. She was angry, and it was showing. "Let go of my wrist."

Seth took a step forward. "Get your hand off of her." His voice was shaking.

"What if I don't?" Seth gritted his teeth and took another step. His body had started shaking.

"Then I will rip you apart." Marit pressed her free hand firmly against Seth's chest, preventing him from taking another step.

"Seth. Stop. This isn't worth it." He tried to focus on the pressure of her hand and not the fury that was about to boil over. The shaking wouldn't stop, and the guy across the counter still had a grip on Marit's wrist. He tightened it. Seth began seeing red at the edges of his vision and found himself thinking how easy it would be to jump across the counter and rip the guy's throat out. Marit felt his muscles tense and was now a few shades paler than normal. Then, her voice changed. It took on a sort of double tone and sent icy shivers down his spine. "Take your coffee and leave before someone gets hurt."

Apparently, her voice hadn't only affected him. The customers face went white as a sheet and his hand dropped. Numbly, he took the coffee and left, not bothering to open his umbrella when he stepped outside.

Now, both of Marit's hands were on Seth's shoulders. Her voice was back to normal but sounded faint through the haze of anger. "Seth. Seth, can you calm down?" Through the shaking, he managed to shake his head.

She was guiding him through the kitchen. He barely registered where they were going. One of the kitchen employees was wondering if he was alright. He could hear Marit's faint answer telling the employee not to follow. Her voice was different again, but this time, the tone was such that he realized anyone who heard it would have an extremely difficult time not doing as she told them to.

Cold rain was pelting his face and he could feel Marit pulling on his shirt. "Seth, you need to help me with this, I'm too short." His apron was lying on a box. "Seth!" He complied, lifting the shirt over his head.

"Marit, I can't." He knew his voice was horribly weak and his breathing sounded more like snarls than anything else. The shaking was worse than ever and he was barely staying in control. She wasn't listening, already jerking his shorts off.

"I grew up with two brothers, so I'm not seeing anything I haven't seen before. If you'd rather have me explain why there's a giant dog walking through the café, I will, but this is easier unless you magically have a change of clothes stashed somewhere around here." Seth kicked his shoes off.

"Just don't look."He gasped the words. Marit kindly averted her eyes as she held the bundle of his clothes to her chest to protect them from the downpour. Seth tossed his boxers on top of the apron not a moment too soon. His entire body convulsed violently and he ended up on his hands and knees in a greasy puddle. A second convulsion ripped through him and he felt himself phase.

Standing and shaking water from his coat, he forced himself into a state of calm, slowing his breathing. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Marit. She was sitting on a crate, slumped back against the brick wall of the alley.

**Well that chapter was ready sooner than I expected.**


	8. Grey Skies

**So I finally got this updated...:)**

Marit was woken by something nudging her gently. Opening her eyes, she immediately wanted to close them again. She was extremely drowsy and couldn't quite remember where she was, why it was raining, or why the thing that was nudging her appeared to be an oversized wolf.

The wolf sniffed at her before whining softly and flopping onto the wet cement and laying its chin on her knees. Then it all came back. "Seth?" The wolf whined again and pushed its nose into her stomach. He sniffed at her again, his breath ruffling her long dress. Tentatively, Marit lifted a hand to the side of his face, flexing her fingers carefully into his soft undercoat. "What?"

Seth whined again causing Marit to frown. His chin was back on her lap. Then she understood. She had passed out when Seth had phased. "Oh. I'm not hurt. I'm fine, just a little tired." He stared up at her. "You should probably change back. Someone might come out here."

The wolf nodded its head and Marit closed her eyes, almost immediately falling back asleep. Seth, now changed back into his human form, tapped her shoulder softly to wake her. When her eyes opened, he gave a small sigh of relief. "I thought I had hit you when I phased."

"No such luck." Marit said sleepily. Seth frowned.

"It wouldn't have been lucky. One of the guys back in La Push phased when someone was standing to close and the only reasonable story they could tell when they got her to the hospital was that she had been mauled by a bear."

"Sorry." Marit stood up and rubbed her eyes.

"Seriously though. Are you all right?" The concern in his voice surprised Marit, and he was standing beside her as if she might collapse at any moment.

"Yes. As I said, I'm just tired. That whole voice thing takes a lot of energy. Once a day is bad enough, but twice in five minutes is hell."

"What did you do anyway?" Seth opened the door for her.

"It's a sort of vocal hypnosis. I can use my voice to manipulate people's minds, but it takes a huge amount of energy. I can't even do it well."

"Oh. Um, okay. I'm not going to ask for details. So are you just going to be falling asleep for the rest of the day then?" They exited the kitchen.

"It's more than likely." Seth laughed at that. "What?"

"Professor Grey is just going to love that." Then Marit laughed too.

"That's right! We have his class today. Take plenty of notes for me." Seth looked at her quizzically, noticing that her eyes became momentarily unfocused. Then, without further warning, she collapsed. Seth caught her before she hit the ground. He frowned as she woke up again.

"Woah! That's it. You're going home." She stared at him, confused, before disentangling herself from his arms.

"Why am I going home?" Seth couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You just passed out." Her face brightened as she seemed to recollect that she had been standing a moment before.

"Oh! That makes sense!" She smiled, but then pressed her lips into a tight line. "That's bad isn't it?"

Seth nodded. "Yeah. That's very bad." He glanced at the clock across the room. "We have fifteen minutes until we're done. When the time is up, I'm taking you home."

"But you'll be late to class. I can walk myself home." He stared at her skeptically.

"You just passed out and I'm not letting you do that again when you're in the street. I'm getting you home safely."

"Okay. Fine. But don't be late to class." Seth smiled.

"Okay. I won't be late to class."

The final ten minutes dragged painfully slowly with Marit dozing off every few minutes and Seth hoping that she wasn't going to die. At last the employees for the next shift had arrived and Casey, who had returned from class, dismissed them.

Rain was still pounding the sidewalk and the north wind continued to blow. "Didn't you bring a coat or anything?" Seth was looking at Marit with concern again. "You'll freeze to death."

"I don't notice you wearing a coat. At least I'm wearing a sweater. Besides, I like rain." She shivered. "I can't say I'm so fond of the wind though. It wasn't so strong this morning."

Seeing Marit shiver, Seth slid an arm around her shoulders and Marit gave a little gasp, her face turning pink.

"You're really warm." She moved closer as they continued to walked, and Seth's arm tightened a bit, pulling her against his side more securely. Her wet braid was cold on his skin, contrasting with the heat he felt rising in his face.

The rest of the walk seemed short to Seth's disappointment. Before he knew it, they were standing under the branches of the huge spreading oak that dominated the space between the gate and the house. "Well, bye." Seth felt awkward just leaving, but didn't know what else he should do. Before he could leave though, Marit pulled him into a tight hug.

Seth felt the heat returning to his face as he hugged her back. "Thanks for walking me home." Her voice was a soft whisper. "Don't be late for class." He nodded and she pulled back.

"Can I come by later to give you the notes?" Marit nodded and pointed to the side of the house where a thick woody vine climbed to the top of the wall. "My window is that one." Seth nodded and skipped a few steps back before waving goodbye. Marit returned the wave before turning and walking up the front steps and into the house.

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Entering the cozy front room, she looked around the dark house. "Agathe?" There was no answer, but she hadn't expected Agathe to be home. Crossing the room to the stairs, Marit made her way to her room. Her laptop sat on the desk, flashing an announcement that she had a new message. Marit kicked off her shoes, feeling her eyelids getting heavy.

Before lying down on her bed, she clicked on the new message on her computer and scanned over its contents. The happiness she had been feeling moments before melted away and was replaced by a chill that rooted itself and refused to move.

Closing the computer and stripping off her wet clothes, she crawled under her blanket and pulled it up over her face before falling asleep. She didn't wake up until Agathe woke her for dinner.

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As Seth ran toward Professor Grey's classroom, he felt like he was flying. Marit had hugged him, so he knew she at least liked him. Even the usual bore of Grey's class didn't have its usual effect and he still felt jubilant as the lecture managed to drag more than usual and the professor's strong soap smell choked the air.

As class ended, Seth gathered his notes into his bag and prepared to leave, following the last string of students leaving the building. Just before he reached the door, Professor Grey's voice reached him.

"Seth, will you talk to me for a moment?" The professor was still standing at his lecture podium and was looking up at Seth. Torn for a moment between leaving immediately to go see Marit and finding out what the professor wanted, he decided that he could go visit Marit later.

Seth descended the steps of the lecture hall to where Professor Grey waited. "What is it, Professor?"

Professor Grey cleared his throat, looking at Seth carefully. Then the smell hit Seth. At such proximity, the soap smell no longer dominated Seth's nose. There was no mistaking the sickeningly sweet smell of vampire that surrounded the professor or, now that he looked closer, the cleverly applied makeup that darkened the professor's skin tone.

"You're a friend of that Olsen girl aren't you?" Seth frowned. He wasn't used to hearing Marit's last name.

"Yes." Grey looked Seth over.

"You are a shapeshifter, am I correct?" Seth nodded. "Very good. I want you to stay away from her." Seth was shocked. This wasn't what he had expected. The Professor began packing his briefcase.

"You're a vampire. Why should I trust you?" Professor Grey looked up and carefully examined Seth again.

"Why should you trust Marit Olsen? Stay away from her." Seth watched as the Professor continued packing his briefcase.

"Why?"

"It isn't wise to question your elders. I ask you, how much do you really know about her? How old is she? Why does she always wear such long skirts? Why does she never show her teeth when she smiles? If she isn't human what is she?" The Professor smiled in an unnerving way, his thin lips stretching back over sharp teeth.

"And I'm guessing that you know what she is?" Seth hadn't meant for himself to sound impudent, but he knew he did.

"Of course I know. I know enough about her to tell you not to trust her and to stay away from her. I knew her when she was a child. I am telling you that if you do not stay away from her, you are going to regret it."

"I can't do that." Seth was now actively working to keep his voice even, but he felt a desperate note sneaking in somehow.

Grey shook his head. "I should have known. You imprinted on her didn't you?" Seth felt his face burn. "You poor boy." Grey's voice sounded frighteningly sympathetic and Seth hoped that it was deceptive. "Be very, very careful. You are dismissed."

As Seth half ran out of the room, he felt confusion forcing itself into his mind. Was Grey telling the truth, or was it a hoax? His first instinct was to run to Marit and tell her what had happened, but then, either thinking better of it or being too afraid to act, he wasn't sure which, he changed course and sprinted in the direction of his dorm.


	9. Carpals, Metacarpals, Phalanges

**Sorry this took so long! I live in the technological dark ages so when I'm out of town I'm completely off the grid.**

**Has anyone noticed how uncreative my chapter titles are? :D**

A dark hallway stretched out in front of her, stone walls banishing light from the passage. At the end of the hallway, a soft, warm glow eminated from an open door voices floated back from the same room and Marit felt a hand tugging softly at her own.

"Marit, who is Grandfather talking to?" Looking down, Marit saw a younger girl with tar black hair standing beside her, staring up with venom green eyes.

"I don't know, Siv. It's a man and a woman." Siv curled her lip.

"They smell." She complained in a whisper. "It stings my nose."

"I know. Mine too. If you breathe through your mouth it's not quite so bad."

"But then I taste the smell and that's worse." Soft footsteps padded down the passage way behind the two girls and Siv turned. Marit didn't bother to look, knowing what she would see. "You're not very quite you know." Siv's voice was chiding and was followed by an irritated groan.

"Hush up Siv." A boy with hair that matched Siv's scowled and another boy, who could have been his twin if not for the space of three years, cast his blue eyes at his older brother before mimicking his expression and glaring viciously at the girls in front of him. "Don't you want to know what they're talking about?"

"Well, Erik, if you must know, we were just going to listen at the doorway. And we would get away with it because we are much quieter that you two." Siv spoke as primly as possible in a whisper.

"We aren't loud!" protested the younger brother. He chanced a look at his sibling's face. "Are we, Erik?"

"Course we aren't, Geir. It's the girls who can't do any sneaking. We boys are the ones who become good hunters." He whispered smiling victoriously.

Watching Siv scramble for a biting reply and knowing that whatever her sister said it would be loud, Marit intervened. "Keep in mind that the Kin has neither needed nor produced hunters for over three hundred years."

Erik made a dismissive noise. "I'm going to be a hunter."

"Not if you keep making so much noise you're won't." Marit hissed. "Are we going to listen or not?"

Creeping forward, the four children halted just outside the door. The voices inside were now audible. "There was a time, Erik, when your kind sought employment with us." The woman said.

"With the ruling coven, yes. However Lady Bridgette, you are a transplant. The Kin have no ties to your original people and even if we had, we would not accept assimilation into your army at this time. The Kin's highest order is family and by accepting your proposal, I, as the current ruling head would be placing the family in danger. Until you can prove the Volturi weak enough to be defeated, I will not begin to supply your coven with hunters." Lady Bridgette hissed angrily.

"Although I am a transplant, I am a fully accepted member of the ruling coven. I am their representative and I came to ask for the support of your people in our fight against the invaders. If you refuse, there are various other kin klanen that would join us." Her voice was lilting and persuasive.

Erik's eyes clouded and then cleared as his ageless face creased with annoyance. "I believe, Lady Bridgette, that you are mistaken. The other kin klanen hold the same order that we do. They would not risk their own Kin for the vendetta of your coven. We are finished here. Shall I show you the door, or can you find your way?"

Without answering, Lady Bridgette waved her companion to follow her. As she exited the room, Erik and Geir, who had been standing close to the door, stumbled back. "Out of my way you cow-tailed brats." She brushed past as the two boys pressed themselves against the wall and then scampered down the hallway.

Marit would have followed, but Siv, who was still clutching her hand, was staring in wonder after the retreating vampire. Her eyes stayed on Lady Bridgette's wild, soot-black hair and snowy marble skin until she was out of sight. When she had vanished, Siv looked up at Marit. "She's beautiful."

"But very dangerous, Marit." Their grandfather's voice rumbled from behind the two as he entered the hall.

"I didn't say that. Siv did."Marit protested.

"Your voice sounds exactly the same as your sister's. Nevermind. I can see why the coven accepted that woman."

"Why's that?" Marit asked curiously.

"She controls people with her voice, like your grandmother." Erik's frowned thoughtfully. "you're learning too, are you not Marit?"

"Yes Grandfather." Siv cast an irritated glance at Marit.

"Why won't Grandmother teach me?"Marit opened her mouth to reply, but Erik spoke first.

"You are too impatient, Siv. You don't focus well enough."

Siv pouted. "Why are you two girls here?" Their grandfather's face grew suspicious. "Were you listening?" A soft tapping noise echoed in the stone hall.

"No Grandfather. Siv and I just came to ask if we could go to pick flowers in the forest." Erik's still stared at them suspiciously and Marit held her breath.

"Alright. You two may go, but be back before dark. Marit, take care of your sister."

"I always do." Marit let her breath go as she and Siv hurried away.

The tapping noise persisted, but now Marit realized that it wasn't coming from the walls, but through the walls and the floor. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up. Her room was dark and silent except for the pattering of the rain on the roof, the soft rumble of thunder, and the sound of someone tapping on the window.

She tossed her blanket off and swung her robe on over her nightgown before going to the window and pushing the curtains aside. Barely a second later, Marit pushed the window up. "Hi, Seth. Come in." He climbed through the window and shook a few drops of water out of his hair.

"This probably isn't the best time to give you these notes." He grinned sheepishly.

Marit closed the window. "Yeah, ten at night isn't the best, but I'll deal with it. I was sleeping all day."

Seth produced a folder from under his t-shirt. "Thank goodness for waterproof folders, right?"

Marit turned on the light. "Do you need a towel or something?"

Seth glanced down at his soaked clothes. "That's probably a good idea. It wasn't raining so much when I left, but I guess rain is unpredictable." Marit snorted. "I probably should have expected that though."

Marit opened her door carefully, making sure the hinges didn't squeak, and made her way down the hall. A minute later, she returned carrying two large towels. In the time she had been gone, Seth had pulled his shirt off. She raised an eyebrow at his bare chest causing him to blush and fold his arms. "You can put your shirt over the heater in the corner to dry it." Marit closed the door again, twisting the knob as she did so that the latch wouldn't click. "Agathe is asleep right now so I'm trying to avoid waking her up. She sleeps like a rock, but I just don't want her getting any weird ideas... Which by the way is the reason I had you use my window instead of the front door."

Seth caught the towel Marit tossed to him and rubbed it vigorously through his hair. "Does she like to play matchmaker? My mom used to do that and it was pretty annoying."

Marit nodded and picked up the folder from where Seth had placed it on the bed. "Yep. She does that a lot. Thanks for the notes. When do you need them back?"

"I don't. I copied all of those notes off of the ones I took, so you can keep them." Marit looked up, surprise showing in her blue eyes.

"Goodness! Thank you! Though you really didn't have to. I could have scanned them." She smiled appreciatively. "These are way clearer than a scan though." Marit slid the papers back into the folder.

Seth shrugged. "Well, I should probably be getting back while it isn't pouring." Listening for a moment, Marit noticed that the sky had become quiet and rain was no longer pattering against the window. She nodded ascent a bit reluctantly. It was nice having Seth around.

A violent crash of thunder echoed suddenly across the sky, loud enough to shake the house. Marit gave a little squeak and jumped, her hand finding Seth's and squeezing it. The lights flickered. "That was... loud." Marit looked up to see Seth laughing at her. "What? I don't like thunder." Then her gaze traveled down to where their hands joined. She turned pink and tried to pull away, but Seth didn't let go.

"What if there's more thunder?" He asked cheekily, his face a mask of mock seriousness.

"Shut up." Marit mumbled still blushing.

"Hey, I'm not complaining, although you do have an extremely strong grip. I think you actually cracked one of my metacarpals." He winced slightly. Marit went pale.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry." This time she did succeed in pulling away, a look of horror on her face.

"Woah. No! It's fine. Don't worry. Shapeshifters heal fast." He held up his hand, showing her the swelling and faint bruise already fading. "See? I'm okay."

Slowly the color returned to Marit's face. "Okay. Does it hurt?"

Seth shook his head. "Not anymore." Marit nodded, still looking shaken. "Yeah. I should probably go." He picked his shirt up off the heater and pulled it over his head. Marit raised a hand in a tentative wave as if afraid to touch him again. "Hey."

"Hey what?" He took a step towards her, closing the distance between them. Marit almost backed away, but decided against it.

"First, don't worry about the hand. I really am fine. Second, thanks for earlier. I really think that I would have phased in the middle of the café if you hadn't gotten me outside." Marit suddenly seemed very interested in her bare feet. Smiling slightly, Seth placed a hand on the back of her arm pulling her forward against his chest and wrapping his arms around her. Shyly Marit returned the hug, resting her cheek on his chest.

"Good night, Seth" His arms were warm and secure before he gently pulled away.

"Good night." He swung nimbly out of the window and dropped to the ground before vanishing into the night.

Closing the window, Marit turned off the light and sat down on the bed, smiling softly at the shadows of fallen raindrops the window glass cast on the floor.

**So. Longerish chapter today. Happy 2015! And review and all that. Cuz I like reviews...  
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	10. rediscovery

The days of exams were past before most students could even registered their existence. The student café closed its doors for the break as its employees dispersed for the holidays. The weather hadn't improved in the least and although the rest of the winter promised to be abnormally warm, rain still poured from the Washington sky.

"So where did you say you're going for winter break?" Seth and Marit were walking to Marit's house, ignoring the chilly drizzle after their final day of the year working the morning shift at the café.

"I don't even know. My younger sister Siv is picking me up tonight and taking me to the house my parents recently bought, but they haven't told me where it is. They're strangely secretive about it." Marit shrugged. "I guess they tend to be very hush-hush about everything, but really." She opened the door and motioned Seth to follow.

By now, Seth was familiar with the house. Over the past month, he and Marit had often had study meetings. Often, perhaps since they would both get distracted and end up talking about anything other than academics. Occasionally, Brady would join them. This had all but once been at Marit's suggestion since they only ever seemed to get any work done when Brady was around.

Agathe appeared to have gone out and the house was silent as they climbed the stairs to Marit's room. Seth glanced around. "Do you want me to help you finish packing?" Marit assented. He helped her fold and roll the remaining two skirts that had been laid out on the bed when he remembered Professor Grey's words. "Why are all of your skirts so long?" Marit just shrugged.

"I don't like skirts shorter than mid-calf length." Her reply was guarded, Seth noticed as he stretched out across the bed. He decided not to press her. Downstairs there was the sound of a door slamming. "Agathe is home."

"MARIT!" Agathe's voice rang through the house. "Can you come down here and talk to me please?"

"Coming." Seth sat up.

"Do you want me to come too?"

"No, that's fine. I'll be back soon." She darted out the door and down the stairs.

Agathe was standing in the kitchen, her lips pressed tightly together and her hands on her hips. She managed to look angry and worried at the same time. "Is Seth upstairs?" Marit nodded. "Alright then." Agathe lowered her voice until it was barely a whisper. "I found this in the mail this morning." She held up an envelope. "I wasn't aware you had joined the Kin's hunters."

"What is this?" Marit took the envelope and removed the letter scanning over it with her eyes. Her forehead creased. "I was recruited five months ago, but because of our agreement and since I was enrolled in college I filed for an exception. I'm only a hunter nominally."

"But this letter makes it sound as if you're on active assignments." Marit shook her head.

"There has been an increase in activity since the Kin re-allied with the ruling coven four years ago, but it's the same old thing that it was in the sixteenth century. The hunters are only used for assignments out of the country. Aside from that, the coven finds their own food. I shouldn't be on active assignment now and I don't intend to ever be. The hunters are an abomination. We don't have to lure people to their deaths to keep the Kin safe and intact."

The words seemed to set Agathe more at ease, but she still seemed concerned. "Are you aware that the ruling coven is planning war on the Volturi and the Kin are supporting them?"

"No, I wasn't, but that's idiocy. I realize that the ruling coven has been building and army, but even with that and the help of the Kin, victory isn't ensured. We would need a much stronger force."

"And they've found something that provides one. Specifically, Werewolves." Agathe's frown deepened. "Hans was working in London when he was summoned back to Norway. That was about a month ago. I got the information from him."

"Werewolves are virtually extinct though! The Volturi have been attempting to exterminate them for centuries. They may have even succeeded by now." Agathe nodded patiently.

"It's true. However, the Werewolves you are thinking of are Werewolf created. They cannot be commanded or reasoned with. Their bloodlust is too strong. However, what was found was a stone tablet outlining how to create a Werewolf, and a rational one too." Marit pressed her lips together impatiently.

"What does this have anything to do with the hunters?" She demanded.

"According to what the coven found, Werewolves are created by infecting a Shapeshifter with a Vampire's bite. The Vampire created wolves have a more active mind in their alternate form. They can take orders, are more effective fighters and strategists, and are also stronger than their creators." Agathe's hands dropped from her hips. "The hunters have been re-purposed to hunt Shapeshifters like, for instance, Seth Clearwater. Now I ask, are you entirely sure that you haven't been on active assignments for the hunters?"

"Yes. Even if I was I would never help them." Marit's fists clenched. "Is this why they are recruiting the children who they have trained to fight? In case something goes wrong? Who would even accept an assignment like that?"

"Both of your brothers and your sister it would seem."

"Siv?!" Marit hadn't meant to raise her voice. Agathe shushed her quickly. "She isn't the fighting kind and Geir should be underage. He's only fourteen." She continued in her previous quiet voice. Agathe shook her head sadly.

"There doesn't appear to be such a thing as underage anymore. They have children younger than Geir. Some are barely eleven. And they're already teaching them to kill."

"I had no idea..." Marit pressed a palm against her forehead. Agathe nodded, spreading her hands slightly.

"Sometimes it is the forgotten things that are the most dangerous. Unfortunately, there isn't anything we can do right now. I'm just glad that you aren't part of it. Go back upstairs. Seth is getting uneasy." Marit nodded and turned to go.

"If there is anything that can be done, please tell me." Agathe nodded tersely and shooed her out of the kitchen.

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Seth sat up as Marit walked back into her room. "What was that about?" Marit flopped ungracefully down on the bed beside him.

"I wish I could tell you." She sounded concerned. Seth raised his eyebrows.

"Why can't you tell me?" Marit shook her head.

"It's a little complicated." Seth lay down again, rolling to face her and taking her hand.

"I can take complicated." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

Marit smiled sadly. "I know, but right now it's better if you don't know, alright? Trust me." Reluctantly, Seth nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by his phone ringing. He frowned and looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Hi Jake. You're here already?" He shot an apologetic look at Marit. "Yeah. I can be there in five minutes I guess." He turned off his phone and sat up. "I thought that he said he was going to come at six."

"You need to go?" Seth nodded and stood up; Marit stood up too.

"Okay. Don't keep him waiting." She walked with him down the stairs and to the door. "Fight some vampires over the break, okay?" Seth laughed although it was a lame attempt at humor.

"Sure. I'll do that. I'm going to miss you" He gave her a quick hug.

"I'll miss you too." Marit waved as he walked to the gate. Seth waved back and then disappeared down the street at a run.

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Jacob was waiting outside the dorm building as Seth slowed back to a walk. He waved. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'll go get my stuff. You want to come?" Jacob nodded and followed Seth up the stairs and down the hall. Seth opened the door. "Well, this is it." He sighed. Brady's suitcase appeared to have been hit by a tornado and Brady himself was sprawled on his bed blowing bubbles at the ceiling. The tiny soap bubbles rose into the air, floating around before popping on the walls. He rolled over to face Seth and Jacob and propped himself up on his elbows, spilling some of his bubble solution as he did so.

"I met the most wonderful girl today." His eyes seemed cloudy and out of focus. Seth felt a jolt of alarm. This wasn't normal. Jacob looked at Seth and mouthed, 'Is he high?'. Seth shrugged. This behavior was very uncharacteristic of his dorm-mate. "She had this really long jet black hair,..." Brady trailed off staring blankly at a stray bubble that was still floating around the room. "...and these big, yellow-green eyes, like poison I guess..." Seth was starting to get worried.

"Brady, are you okay?" Brady frowned hard, concentrating on the question. He tried to speak and ended up looking like a gulping fish as his vocal cords failed him for a few minutes.

"Never...better..." His eyes seemed to clear for a moment and make sense of his surroundings before he drifted back into his daze. "She was hot. So was her friend."

"Can you remember their names?" Jacob asked. Brady's eyes focused on him as if noticing his presence for the first time.

"Siv. And Bridgette...I think. The hot one was definitely Siv." Jacob ran a hand through his hair.

"That's a weird name." He looked at Seth. "Have you ever heard of a name like that?"

"Actually, Jake, I have. Marit's younger sister's name is Siv." Seth spoke slowly. Jacob perked up, interested, and noticed that Brady seemed more alert as well.

"She said something about someone named Marit." Brady's speech was surprisingly clear and his eyes were much more focused than before and seemed to be coming out of whatever trance he had been in, but at the same time, losing his memory of what had happened.

"Can you remember what she said?" Jacob asked. Brady seemed completely back to normal and was staring at the bottle of bubble solution in his hand, confused.

"What am I remembering?" Jacob shook his head.

"Nothing. Seth, grab your bag. Your mom is going to yell at me for getting you back late." Seth, still a bit concerned about Brady, hefted the duffle bag he had packed full of clothes and other necessities and, stopping at the door, waved.

"You're taking the bus to Portland in an hour?" Brady nodded and waved back.

"See you in two weeks, Seth." The moment Seth and Jacob left the building, Jacob turned to Seth.

"What was that?" Seth shook his head.

"I have no idea. I've never seen anyone like that..." He trailed off a thought striking him. "Wait. Remember earlier this semester when I told you about how Marit used her voice to control some people at the café?" They had reached Jacobs car and Seth stuffed his bag into the trunk. "That day I almost phased in public?"

"The people she controlled were affected the same way?" Jacob climbed into the driver's seat. Seth took the passenger side.

"Yeah. But the weird thing is, Marit didn't do it. We were hanging out all afternoon. Anyway, I would know if she did because it takes all of her energy. She'd have been asleep." Jacob laughed ironically and started the car.

"Well of course it would be convenient if this was easy to figure out, but since when has life ever been convenient?"

As they drove out of the parking lot, a figure watched them go, her thick, dark hair ruffled by the wind. Smiling to herself, she turned and all but vanished, barely a shadow in the halflight.

**I have nothing to do but write...**


	11. Loyalty

**So I'm switching to first person cuz I think it may be easier. For now at least. Maybe I'll keep using it.**

Siv was late. I had come to expect that. Punctuality was never her strong suit unless it meant showing up at the worst time possible and both abilities had apparently been well preserved for the past six months. Because clearly I hadn't been worrying enough when Seth called me from a gas station six minutes after he had left my house to ask me if I would go to his dorm block and make sure Brady wasn't going insane, and Siv had something to do with it.

At first it didn't make sense. Seth wouldn't leave if Brady was in trouble or if he had been in trouble a minute before. Then he mentioned something about mind control, Siv, and a woman named Bridgette. Not good. And Jacob had made Seth leave, judging by Seth's tone. That had been smart, though neither of them could possibly know how smart. If Siv had showed up while Jacob and Seth were both in the building, it would have been more than a small problem in light of her new activities.

When I got to Brady's room, he was fine and proceeded to talk my ear off about his grandparents' house in Portland and the friends he was going to see over the holidays. Nothing about him was changed and his red hair was in its usual state of dishevelment. At my asking, he explained that he had gone to the dollar store for soap, met a nice girl there with her friend, had gotten her number, and come back to his dorm. He didn't remember anything strange that had happened and seemed not to remember that Jacob and Seth had even come by.

This in itself was not concerning. I'd seen reactions like this before. Brady wouldn't remember his conversation with Siv and Bridgette, but he would be alright. Most likely, They hadn't gotten any useful information off of him and Siv would leave him alone.

Not long after I arrived, a few of Brady's friends had shown up to leave for the bus station and I had gone home.

Siv showed up just before midnight in an old black Toyota sedan and I met her at the street."Hi, Siv." I tried to look and sound happy to see her. This morning, I would have been. Right now I wasn't. I frowned at the frayed lap belt, wondering if it would hold in an accident.

She was silent as we drove through the artificially lit streets of Seattle, but was smiling and every few minutes, she opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again as if thinking better of what she was about to say. It was only when we were ten miles out of the city that she couldn't hold back. "Marit, guess what?" I sighed quietly, already knowing what she was so excited about.

"What? You've been dying to tell." Siv straightened proudly in the driver's seat.

"I got recruited! For the hunters." And there we had it. "Now we can work together on assignments!"

I turned my face to the window and grimaced slightly. "I would love to, but I've filed an exception until I'm out of college." Siv's smile faded.

"So you aren't proving your loyalty to our family yet?" She had gone from happy to disappointed and accusing in a fraction of a second.

"Just because I'm going to college and I'm not really following tradition doesn't make me disloyal, Siv. I'm not the first to choose this way, but I am loyal. My family is everything to me." It wasn't a lie. Since I had been born, I had been raised to put the family above everything, even personal morals.

"Then the family should be more important to you than your education." I shrugged in an attempt to act nonchalant. A part of me told me that I was her older sister and that I shouldn't be taking this from her, but a wiser side told me that whether or not she was younger than me, she currently had more influence than I did and I should keep my mouth shut.

I was guessing that Siv had been talking to Brady in the first place because his close proximity to Seth made his clothes smell like shapeshifter. The very fact that I spent any time near Seth meant that I was going to smell a bit like a shapeshifter too, and in light of the fact that Siv was now a hunter and seemed to be taking her duties very seriously, It would be better if I said and did as little as possible to arouse any suspicion.

I considered my words carefully. "I prefer to think of education as serving the Kin in a different way. If we were all hunters, we would have resources through allies, but no resources of our own. Besides, I'm loyal to my family, not a coven. It seems to me that the hunters are used for the sole purpose of serving a group that is not interested in the Kin's security." Siv took on her reprimanding tone.

"Our family chose an alliance with the ruling coven that gave them rights to utilize some of the Kin's resources, and that includes hunters like you and me. That means that by your loyalty to our kin, you also have a responsibility to the coven we have allied with." I paused for a moment attempting to formulate a counterargument that wouldn't seem incriminating. Staring out the window into the inky blackness of the night, I noticed how fast we must have been driving. 80 at least. I was faintly aware of Siv's eyes boring into my back, waiting for a response, and I wished that she would keep her eyes on the road. To respond would be to continue an argument that I couldn't win and I knew it. It was true that Siv was not a fighter, but she was extremely smart, smarter than I was, and had a cruel streak. She was laying a trap, and I wasn't going to step in it.

She shook a few locks of black hair out of her eyes, staring down the road and composed herself. Her smile was back. "Where are we going? Mom and Dad didn't tell me where the house was." Siv's smile broadened into a Cheshire sort of grin, giving away neither joy nor malevolence.

"Forks." I could tell she was gauging my reaction. I pulled a poker face.

"What's in Forks? It doesn't seem like the place that they would usually choose to live. It's a little...small." Siv's smile didn't falter.

"It isn't what's in Forks, it's what's just outside." I knew perfectly well what Siv was hinting at, but that wasn't going to get me out of any trouble I was already in for arguing over the hunter thing.

"Trees? The ONRC is there, but I didn't know they liked nature so much." Siv looked at me like I was stupid. Good. Let her think that I was.

"No. La Push. Shapeshifters?" Her incredulous tone nearly made me laugh nervously.

I was pushing my limits of believability, but then again, I hadn't known about any of this until seven hours before and decided that pushing my luck a little bit more might be helpful. "What do shapeshifters have anything to do with this?" Siv turned her eyes to the road, exasperated.

"They have EVERYTHING to do with it! Have you been completely ignorant of everything that has been happening for the past few months?"

"Actually, yes. I haven't gotten any news since August." My voice had some heat in it now. Siv just shook her head and drove faster. "Don't crash please." She glared at me.

"I don't crash." Right. Aside from that time you ran into a ditch. But that was the ice's fault that you hit the brakes on a frozen road. "I'm giving you all the documents I've gotten and you are going to read them." We drove in silence for the rest of the time. Siv was angry, and that was fine with me. If she wasn't talking I just had more time to think.

At three thirty in the morning, we pulled into the drive of a medium sized, old fashioned, two-story house. My first impression was that it looked distinctly unwelcoming with paint peeling at the corners of the house's siding and the front garden overgrown with wiry, dead-looking climbing-rose bushes that appeared to be made mostly of thorns, the flowers hanging limply from the stems. There didn't appear to be much of a backyard to speak of either, as the house was pushed as far back as possible into the trees. To be honest, I liked it.

Siv still wasn't speaking me as she led me through the house, stopping briefly in the living room to pick up a manila envelope, and up a flight of squeaky stairs to my new room and switched on the lamp. The room itself was mostly bare aside from a bed, a table, and an alarm clock, and the lamp's dim bulb barely cast enough light to see even though the room was small. I set my suitcase on a rickety looking wooden chair in the corner just below the single window with moth-eaten curtains that looked out on the forest. Siv slapped the envelope into my hand and looked me over. "The bathroom is down the hall." I nodded, and she left.

The smell of dust and mildew hung in the air like an old towel as I tried to fall asleep. The quilt I was using was familiar at least. It had been mine since I was a child. After half an hour, I gave up on sleep and began rooting through the envelope Siv had given me. Most of it was stuff that Agathe had told me about, but there were a few things that I didn't know.

The first was on an inconspicuous pamphlet of green paper that I had nearly missed. As I read it, it appeared to be a report of some kind and I began to read in more detail. '_The first phasing of a shapeshifter is triggered by the presence of vampires in the vicinity of the creature's residence. As it is important to our cause acquire as much stock as possible for the creation of our army, we will begin to place vampires in the approximate area of shapeshifter packs..._"I eventually moved on to the next few documents, one, a letter explaining that the sender had found a way to cause werewolves to phase without a full moon. On the next document was a list of known packs of shapeshifters. The first pack, labeled 'Siberian', was stamped in red with the words 'diminished source'. I scanned the rest of the list, but La Push was not listed. I sighed with relief.

I returned the documents to the folder and set it back on the table before turning out the lamp. I pulled the quilt close around my shoulders and felt my eyelids getting heavy before I settled into an uneasy sleep.

What must have an hour later, there was a creak from the door hinges and my eyes snapped open as I carefully kept my breathing even. I could see a figure faintly outlined in the dark. Siv's soft footsteps barely made a sound as she made her way to my suitcase and carefully set it on the floor. I wondered drowsily why she was borrowing my clothing this early. The latches of the suitcase clicked loudly and Siv paused, crouching, listening for any change in my breathing. I stayed still and she continued with what she had been doing before.

By the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late. She had dug through the suitcase for only a moment when I remembered that Seth had packed two of my skirts. She had a large panel of fabric and was holding it too close to her nose to not be able to smell the scent on it. In the half-light, I could see her eyes widen and hear an angry snarl rise in her throat. My breath must have caught because she looked at me curled up beneath the quilt. Then, very carefully, she placed my things back in the suitcase, latched it, and returned it to its previous perch on the chair.

When she left, I silently cursed myself for not reacting faster. If she had known I was awake, she may not have continued her search. Of course, she probably would have come up with an excuse to get into my suitcase anyhow. I dug my fingers into the mattress irritably, beginning to create a story as to why my clothing smelled like a shapeshifter and praying Siv would believe it.


	12. flight

**Once again I'm having trouble getting time to update. Sorry!**

Christmas had passed peacefully, bringing a thin blanket of snow that hadn't stuck due to some abnormally warm weather that had come as a relief to most of the kids both in Forks and La Push.

The rain had taken a hiatus, so while the weather was still good, Brady, Collin and I were putting a patch on a leak in Emily's roof as a favor to Sam. Collin had vanished into the house an hour before to get a glass of water and Brady was sprawled on the rooftop next to me trying to convince me that my roommate had stolen his name.

I maintained that it had to be the other way around since "Other Brady", as Brady was now calling him, was two years older and had been named first. I sat next to the newly completed patch ensuring that it was tight and wondered why it had taken the three of us the entire afternoon to complete the job. I could have done it myself in half an hour, but every job took exponentially longer when Collin and Brady were helping. In all honesty, the only reason they were around was because Sam didn't want them on patrol at the moment and he didn't trust them enough to leave them alone without a job. I was basically playing baby sitter.

The screen door slammed open below us and Collin's face peered over the gutter. "Hey, Seth, Brady, Emily made muffins. Do ya wanna come down?" Brady's head popped up and he shot Collin a dirty look.

"You were eating muffins while we worked out fingers to the bone up here?" If sleeping was considered work, Brady would have been a skeleton by now.

"I was the only one working." Brady shrugged. How he managed that while supporting himself on his elbows was a mystery to me. "Yeah. We'll come down. Give us a sec." Collin dropped out of sight and went back inside.

"Don't eat all of the muffins!" Brady shouted after him as he helped me collect the tools from the roof. When we had put them back in the tool box on the porch, Brady dashed into the house. I stayed on the porch for awhile, watching the clouds grow darker as the sun set, and enjoying the silence. Emily could deal with them for a few minutes.

Jacob's car stopped in front of the house and he got out, carrying a package. I noticed how messy the wrapping job was and figured it was probably from Billy. "Hey, Jake. What's in the box?" Jacob swung easily over the porch railing, not even tipping the parcel as he landed.

"It's a fruitcake my sister sent Sam and Emily from Hawaii. Do you mind taking it in? I was just heading down to see Renesmee," He shoved the box into my hand. "and Bella and the rest of the Cullen's too." It was easy to see that he only mentioned them as an afterthought. "Your mom wants you home by the way. She was trying to call, but you left your phone. She and Leah want to go drop by Chief Swan's house to bring him some cookies." The words were slightly rushed, and I understood. Jacob wanted to get to the Cullens' house sooner rather than later and staying to talk wasn't on his agenda. "Thanks."

He vaulted off of the porch and jogged to his car before waving and disappearing down the road. I turned and headed inside, giving Emily the cake and grabbing a muffin. It was completely dark by the time I got outside and I stared up at the starless sky for a moment, anticipating the walk home. Through the woods would be faster by far, taking me a little over the previous treaty line and within a mile of the Cullens' house before putting me back on the main road to La Push. I could make it in less than fifteen minutes if I ran.

The cool foggy floor of the forest smelled good as the wind whipped through my hair and past my ears. College had made me forget how good it was to run with the occasional pine frond against my face. The enjoyment of this sort of freedom was so distracting that I almost missed the odd flowery scent that was now mingling with the air. I stopped dead. As strange as it was, it was painfully familiar. It was the smell I had grown so accustomed to in the café, and in Professor Grey's classroom. It was strange, but unmistakably Marit. What was she doing here? Carefully following the trail, I contemplated whether Mom and Leah would be especially upset if I didn't show.

The trail wound through the trees, aimlessly it seemed. Maybe Marit wasn't even in the woods at the moment. I followed her trail carefully hoping to catch up if she was, but it continued to wind in a seemingly pointless direction. I continued walking, quickening my pace, and then, someone else's scent hit my nose, sickeningly sweet and burning like bleach. I was too far from the Cullens' property for it to be them, and anyway, there was a difference in the smell of a vampire who drank humans and a vampire who drank animals. Whatever had just hit my nose drank human blood. A sick feeling set in my stomach. Before I knew it, I was running again, but this time, it wasn't towards home.

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My parents hadn't made it home for Christmas; they were still in Norway, so Siv and I were on our own. Actually, that wasn't true. Siv had decided to have company. In other words, she had invited some vampire friends of hers to stay from Russia, so I stayed holed up in my room for the majority of my time. Siv didn't seem to mind my absence and if anything, she appreciated it. She had concluded that mistrusting me was a safe way to go for the moment had taken to trying to hide her files in her room.

Siv's visitors usually occupied the sitting room downstairs while I lay on my bed reading whatever files and news I could sneak out of Siv's room during the day. She left me alone for the most part, but would occasionally force me downstairs to talk over the Kin's plans for the army if only in an effort to raise my approval for her activities. For the past week, I had managed to stay completely silent and only glean information off of what was said.

The morning had gone well. Siv and her friends had gone out in the morning, leaving me to my own devices for the day. I had found a rusty swing-set a few hundred meters back in the trees behind the house, and I sat on an agonizingly squeaky swing, enjoying the absence of rain and tossing seeds to a few chickadees that had decided to brave the winter here. Later, I had bided a few minutes at the antique piano in the salon, stringing together notes in an attempt to play Christmas carols, but my absence of musical talent caused every melody to echo eerily against the wooden walls that were now permeated by the acrid stench of bloodsuckers. Oddly enough, it was relaxing, satisfying even, to spend the day in such a way, but it wasn't to last.

Siv got home a little before sunset, and as I had hoped she wouldn't, dragged me downstairs to listen to whatever her friends had pulled out of the toilet this time. The darkening sky reflected my mood as I pulled my knees to my chest, steeling myself.

Timothy was speaking in his irritatingly smooth voice. "I think you are right, Siv. The La Push pack does appear to be a valid group of Shapeshifters. However, until we can turn one, they aren't safe to report. If we are in the least wrong, Lady Bridgette will have our heads, literally. Scientifically speaking, they should have the exact same genetics as the European packs, but there is a possibility that they evolved differently due to this environment. At the current stage, it isn't worth the risk." As usual, I made every attempt to remain silent. Unfortunately, it was not to be. "Marit, you're too quiet." Timothy, his marble skin almost translucent beneath the lamp, stared at me, his black eyes shining maliciously.

"I'm just tired." I lied. Siv gave me look.

"Marit doesn't entirely agree with the concept of hunters." Timothy's eyes widened.

"We can't have that can we?" I hugged my knees tighter. "A dissident. Perhaps a traitor?"

"All I'm saying is that I won't participate in genocide. That doesn't make me a traitor." Alexander, Timothy's companion, raised one, graceful eyebrow.

"I think you may find that it does." I stood suddenly, my teeth scoring my lower lip as bit down too hard.

"Hardly. If anything, it just means that I have more going on in my head than any of you. What makes you so sure that you can actually control what you create?" I turned my back on them, leaving the room. " I'll see you all later." I didn't grab my coat as I left, slamming the back door behind me, and I didn't look back as I dashed into the trees, not caring where I went.

The shadows engulfed me, my hair tangling on low branches as I ran, the hem of my skirt catching and tearing free of the foliage, fraying. My people were fast. Significantly slower than a vampire, but not by such a large margin that one of us couldn't get a decent head start. The forest was a blur. It must have been miles before I slowed to a walk, beginning to meander between the trees, and perhaps a mile further until I stopped.

The trees were still and fresh. I pressed my cheek against the cold, wet bark to cool the hot skin on my face. As I did, I felt soft vibrations shaking the trunk, so infinitesimal that they couldn't be human. My breath solidified in my throat. Like most children who had spent at least part of their childhood in America, I had read a few of the old western novels in which unscrupulous horsemen pressed their ears against railroad tracks to listen for a coming train. Timothy and Alexander were following me. I was sure of it. I started running again. I didn't have much faith that Siv much cared whether I was dead or alive at the moment, and her guests had looked hungry.

It wasn't long until my sensitive ears picked up on the delicate sound of a snapped branch, or the swish of a fern against granite skin. Jumping, I swung up into a tree, nimbly climbing upwards before leaping to the next tree. Below me, I could hear their tread halt. I kept moving. Footsteps began again, from one pair of feet now below me. Alexander's voice floated up through the trees sending a chill through my limbs. "We know you are here, Marit."

I stayed where I was, not daring to breathe. It didn't help that I couldn't see either of them through the darkness and the thick spruce boughs. Alexander was pacing, snapping branches. Stealth was hardly his strong suit. I almost laughed. It was funny until my previous observation about the single pair of footsteps struck me. If only Alexander was on the ground, then where was Timothy?

My heart pounded as I felt the slight vibration in the branch I was on. I turned to look over my shoulder. "I see you've found me. It certainly took you long enough." Timothy took a step forward. "Perhaps you don't have as much going on in your head as you think?" He took another step, reaching a hand towards me. The muscles in my legs bunched.

When Timothy lunged at me I was already on the adjacent tree. He was a faster runner, but my reflexes were twice as quick. He followed me without caution, and the branch he landed on broke, sending him and a shower of soft wood crashing to the ground. I dug my nails into the tree bark to steady myself and then leapt to the next tree and the next, hearing Timothy and Alexander crash through the underbrush below. I had the advantage in the trees and I wasn't about to give it up. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be able to stay in the trees forever.

As my fingers closed around the next branch, the bark crumbled. My fingers scrambled for a grip as I fell, managing to catch a branch almost ten feet down and I hung on, swinging precariously. Alexander made a jump for my feet, his cold hand closing around one of my ankles and trying to crush the bone. I used my other foot to kick viciously at his face and landed a few successful blows before finally knocking him back to the ground.

My ankle throbbed and even in the dark I could see the skin darkening in a bruise. I pulled the rest of my body onto the branch and jumped again, but I had overestimated myself. My ankle gave out and I fell, the ground jarring the breath out of me. I crawled backward pressing my back against the tree I had just fallen from and felt icy hands around my neck, strangling me. I planted both feet in the middle of my attackers stomach and kicked as hard as I could, feeling a jet of satisfaction as I heard the dull thud of a body hitting a tree a few meters away.

"You've gotten careless, Alexander." Timothy's voice cut through the foggy trees like a knife. "Letting that little brat kick you like that?"

Alexander hissed as I scrambled to my feet. He made a jump for me, but I ducked easily. Timothy was somewhere above, presumably watching from his perch in a tree. Alexander jumped again and I stumbled sideways my ankle twisting. His hand caught my shoulder tearing the fabric of my shirt, but holding fast. I was thrown to the ground, and my head struck a rock. Warm blood dampened my hair. The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was a huge tan wolf hurtling out of the trees, knocking Alexander away from me.


End file.
